Explosive separation device



y 1960 B. R. ADELMAN ETAL 2,945,442

EXPLOSIVE SEPARATION DEVICE Filed Jan. 2. 1958 a), fir

- INVENTOR. 1 Barnai liAd'e'lm an. 1 By James 11 Burke E i if Uniwd m Pam 67 w 2,945,442 1 EXPLOSIVE SEPARATION DEVICE Barnet R. Adelman, Los Angeles, and James D. Burke, -Altadena, Calif., assignors to the United States of America as represented bythe Secretary of the Army FiledJan. 2, 1958, Ser. No. 705,376 4 Claims. 01. 102 -49 This invention. relates to an explosiveseparation device, and more particularly to adevice that finally detaches a dart-like missile fromv a booster rocket.

It is a principal object of the invention to employ the use of a smallexplosive chargeto be ignited from the propellingcharge of a booster rocket tooperate a piston and detach and project a dart from the booster rocket without, disturbing the flight accuracythereof;

lt i s another object of the invention to provide aipre dictable point of separation of the dart from the booster rocket necessaly for the accurate trajectory.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an explosive separation device that is simple, inexpensive and reliable. V i k The specific nature of the invention as well' as other objectsand.advantages thereof, will clearly appearfrom' the invention. The assembly comprises a booster rocket motor generally indicated by 2, and an inert dart member indicated generally by 3 mounted on its nose portion.

The booster rocket 2 comprises a cylindrical motor chamber 4 encasing a solid propellant liner 5. The configuration of propellant 5 is such that the depth of the propellant at the forward end of the chamber 4 exceeds the depth burned during effective boost. Booster rocket 2 is provided with a tail and fin assembly 6 and a thickened nose portion 7. The nose portion 7 is provided with a reduced threaded portion 8 and is axially bored as at 9.

Means'for mounting dart 3 on booster rocket 2 for launching therewith is provided and consists of a substantially conical mount member indicated generally by 10 and is adapted to be threadably engaged on thickened portion 8 by a coaxial threaded bore 11 provided at its rearward end thereof. Mount 10 is further provided with an intermediate coaxial bore 12 of smaller diameter in b'ore 12 and is provided with a stem 20 slidable in bore 13. u

Dart 3 is provided with a large coaxial bore 21 of substantially .the same diameter of annular surface 14 and a smaller coaxial counter bore 22; of substantially the same diameter as annular surface 15.

The diameter of portion 17 of liner 16 is small enough to prevent extrusion of booster propellant 5 into the liner during booster operation, and the. piston 19 will act to seal off black powder gas from bore 13 and to the base .of dart 3.

In assembly, the mount 10 is attached on reduced portion 8 of nose 7 of the booster motor 2. The inner peripheral surface of bore 21 will encircle surface '14 while the inner peripheral surface of bore 22 will encircle surface 15 and'support the dart 3 in a coaxial relation with booster motor 2 and mount 10.

"Suitable means, not shown, for retaining dart 3 toi mount 10 until the moment of separation is reached may be employed'such as press fitting; .etc. a

V 'In' operation, the propellant liner 5 upon launching initiation, burnsa specified distance within the motor chamber 4 whereupon black powder 18 in liner portion 17 is ignited. This ignitionis coordinated with termination of booster thrust by'regulation "of the distance between V Z the inner peripheral surface 23 of the propellant liner 5 and begpropelled; p

In application, the device is considered usable with a boosterrocket motor operating .at' chamber pressures up. to -l=,'00 0 'p;s.i.- As'for example, the piston moving a" than threaded bore 11 and a forward coaxial bore 13 of to penetrate propellant liner 5 as indicated at 17.

I This liner is filled with an ignitable material such as black powder 18. A piston element 19 is slidably received and the tip 17 of liner 16. Generation of gas by the burning of the black powder 18 will then act'to move piston 19 forwardly and stem 20 will impinge on base 24' of dart? and cause the dart to separate from mount 10 distance of /2 inch with an average total force of approximately 1 ton and applied to a dart of 5 lbs., the dart willbe accelerated away from a stationary booster at the rate of 18 feet per second. Tipping is reduced by the fact that the piston travel is less than the travel of the dart along the two annular bearings during separation.

The time of separation is controlled by the thickness of the booster propellant liner which burns at a reproducible rate. When the surface of the burning propellant reaches the explosive in the liner 16 separation of the dart occurs. It is apparent from the foregoing that an efficient and reliable separation device has been devised. The device may be assembled quickly and all parts are capable of quick replacement.

While a preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions of equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art after a study of the foregoing disclosure. Hence, the disclosure should be taken in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, and it is the desire and intention to reserve all modifications within the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is: 1. In an explosive separation device, a booster rocket motor including a motor chamber, a tail section and a nose portion, a propellant liner in said motor chamber,-

a mounting member having first and second peripheral bearing surfaces detachably secured on said nose portion, an inert missile having first and second axial bores adapted to encircle said first and second bearing surfaces respectively on said mounting member, a slidable piston mounted axially in said mounting member and an ex plosive powder train disposed between said piston and said propellant liner, said slidable piston to be urged forwardly upon ignition of said powder train by burning of said propellant liner to separate and propel said inert missile from said mounting member.

2. In an explosive separation device, a booster rocket Patented July 19., 1960 v motor comprising a motor chamber, a tail assembly and a thickened nose portion, said nose portion having an axial bore therethrough, a propellant liner in said motor chamber, :a, mounting member having forward land'rearward peripheral bearing surfaces, and a 'rearward'coaxialv bore and -a smaller counterbore in saidmem-ber,

saidmember adapted to be detachably', secured in a co. axialvrelation to. said nose portion, an explosiverfill'ed'. liner in a rearward portion of said rearward'bore, said' liner. extendingthrough said axial bore in ,said nose, portion and piercing said propellant liner to a predetermined distance therein, a piston slidable in the forward portion of said rearward bore in saidrnounting member, a stem integral with said piston and extending forwardly in said smaller counterbore, and an inert dart member having a largeirearward coaxial bore and a smaller forward co.-

axial counterboreseparably mounted, said bores in said;

dart adapted. to encircle said rearward. and forward bearing surfaces on said mounting member respectively, said dart to be separated and propelled fromrsaid mounting member upon impact. from said piston and said stem upon detonation of said explosivein said liner.

'3. In a combination booster rocket and separablev missile. assembly includinga rocket motor andflan inert missile, means separably connecting said inert missile and: said rocketmotor comprising, va mountingmember de. tachably secured forwardly of said rocket motor said mountdefining. a rearward annular surface and tapering,

forwardly to definea smaller annular surface,- said rearward and said forward annularsurface, lying ,in a plane parallelto'the central axis of said mounting member,

said inertmissile being provided with arearward axial bore and a smaller forward counter bore, said rearward and said forward bores being substantially of equal diameters to said rearward annular surface andsaid forward annular surface respectively of said mounting member andadapted to encicle said surfaces and support,

said missile on said mounting member when in assembled relation.

4. In an explosive separation device, a booster rocket motor comprising a motor chamber, a tail section and a thickened nose portion having an axial bore therethrough, said nose portion defining a forwardly extending reduced threaded portion, a propellant liner in said chamber, a mountingmember threadably engaged on said reduced portion, and having a first axial bore-anda second smaller counter bore therein, an explosive-filled liner in the-reardiameter as said rearward bearing surface and a second forwardly disposed counter bore of substantially the same. diameter as said forward annular surface on said mounting member supporting said missile on said'mounting member when in assembled relation, said dart-to beseparated from said mounting member and propelled forwardly therefrom upon impact of said stem with said missile;

7 References'Cited in the'file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,102,653; Goddard, ,July'7, 1914 1,314,801 Hanzlik Sept. 2,: 1919 2,179,404 Fabionar Nov. 7, 1939 2,397,114 Anzalone Mar. 26; 1946 2,421,752 Jones June 10, ,1947 

